Lakeside Diner

Only after the last tree has been cut down. Only after the last fish has been caught. Only after the last river has been poisoned. Only then will you realize that money cannot be eaten. Cree Nation Tribal Prophecy

“As the world struggles with economic challenges, governments everywhere are cutting back on services and seeking new forms of revenue. One of the most talked about new ideas for raising revenue is the financial transactions tax (FTT). Debate over a European FTT dominated June’s European Union summit, while in the United States, civil society groups kicked off a major new FTT campaign.”

“China’s trade growth decelerated sharply in June as a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy deepened despite stimulus efforts.”

“For more than 40 days, 14 men in the north of Spain have spent their days and nights in dark shafts, 3,000 feet underground. They are not trapped. Instead, these miners have voluntarily locked themselves in the depth of the mines to protest against the massive government cuts to the sector.”

“Egypt’s highest court cancelled a decree by the country’s Islamist president to restore parliament on Tuesday. The supreme constitutional court issued a ruling that overturned President Mohamed Morsi’s decision to reconvene parliament until a constitution is ratified and fresh elections are held.”

“After reading an exclusive report that appeared at Working In These Times, the Department of Labor has opened an investigation into captive-audience anti-union meetings held on an army base in Fort Lewis, Washington. Ayofemi Kirby, spokeswoman for Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 286 union organizer Jeff Alexander both say their respective offices were contacted by a Department of Labor agent looking into whether General Dynamics violated the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act during a recent union election held at Fort Lewis. The DoL’s Office of Labor-Management Standards would neither confirm nor deny that the investigation was taking place.”

“Ecuador’s ambassador to Washington Nathalie Cely says that granting political asylum to the Australian-born Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could discredit Quito in the US.”

“It has been nearly two weeks since the parliament of Paraguay orchestrated an institutional coup that removed President Fernando Lugo from power and installed vice president Fernando Franco in his place, a mere 9 months before the next presidential elections.”

TRNN: “Fruitful pressure. The Israeli membership in the prestigious OECD organization obligates Israel to certain economic and social standards. One of the demands is to close social gaps. But instead of encouraging Jewish employers to take on Arabs workers into hi-tech, Israel instead encourages investors to establish separate hi-tech companies in the Arab sector.”